There is potential for the first severe weather of the season today as a cold front will move through the Arkansas River Valley and bring a squall line that could produce strong winds, hail and even a pop-up tornado.

National Weather Service senior meteorologist Martin Trexler told The Courier on Tuesday the main storm will blow into the Russellville area in the early afternoon.

The weather service said 1 to 3 inches of rain is possible with some areas receiving 4 inches. Forecasters said that amount of rainfall in a 24-hour period could lead to flash flooding from Little Rock eastward.

A squall line that leads the storm will likely produce strong winds and possibly hail in the Arkansas River Valley and bring a decent chance of strong isolated thunderstorms and even tornadoes, Trexler said.

“As the system moves through the state, it will drop one to two inches of rain in the Russellville area,” Trexler said. “This is a clear-cut rain event with the chance of isolated severe weather. This is definitely the start of the spring inclement weather season.”

A cold front will follow the system into Arkansas, and forecasters said areas of central Arkansas could see temperatures in the 70s ahead of the front, while northwest Arkansas sees temperatures in the 40s.

The meteorologist said NWS models indicated this will likely be an average spring for severe weather in Arkansas, as it appears a number of cold fronts will make their way across the Midwest in the coming months and bring the possibility of strong thunderstorms and tornadic events.